Sasuke Wants a Wife
by Chibi-Chichan
Summary: SasuHina. "Welcome to the #1 show in Konoha! Sasuke-teme Wants a Wife! I'm your host, Uzumaki Naruto!" Sasuke wants to revive his clan. So, what else is there to do but hold a public search for the girl to help him do exactly that?
1. Not a TV Person

**Sasuke Wants a Wife**

"Welcome to the #1 show in Konoha! Sasuke-teme Wants a Wife! I'm your host, Uzumaki Naruto and-" A shoe collided with the blonde's head. "WHOEVER SAID I WANTED A WIFE?" Sasuke wants to revive his clan. So, what else is there to do but hold a public search for the girl to help him do exactly that?

A/N: Argh, I have two other Naruto fics I'm meant to be working on, but RAWR! This idea came into my head whilst watching "The Farmer Wants A Wife". (Australian TV shows amuse me. XD) I wasn't really sure about posting this up, but hopefully all turns out well...? Yay, for more SasuHina! :3

...

Sasuke Uchiha was not a very happy man.

Though this fact was obvious to many people on a regular basis due to the Uchiha's moody disposition, today it seemed that Sasuke's mood was particularly foul. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that the genius was prepared to chomp off a particular blonde's head if he wasn't being restrained by a pink-haired girl who had her arm linked with his.

"Sasuke-kun, where do you want to go next?" came her cheery voice, her shining jade eyes looking up at him excitedly.

Inwardly, Sasuke groaned from the unwanted situation he was in, outwardly, he turned and glowered at Sakura Haruno, for the umpteenth time in the past hour, attempting to shake her off unsuccessfully. Strangely, he found that every girl that had latched onto his arm that day had a particularly firm grip and were unwilling to let go, even when he would attempt to shake them violently off. He growled in irritation, glancing around himself and wondering where the hidden camera was located, recording his every movement.

Sasuke Uchiha was not a very happy man and the fact that activities he considered to be private were being recorded and broadcast for the entire Fire Country's viewing pleasure, irritated him to no end. He had only needed to watch the first few minutes of the pilot episode on TV-spitting out his tea as he did so-to see how idiotically low the media had stooped, to the sad point where they were willing to run a show on him, ex-missing nin, still the hottest bachelor in Konoha.

"_Welcome to our hot new show! Sasuke-teme wants a wife!_" the familiar blonde-haired shinobi greeted, jabbing his thumb at himself. "_I am your host Uzumaki Naruto!_"

The corny dialogue they had given the member of Team Seven nearly made Sasuke want to hurl his dinner out, it was really quite unbearable.

Not only that, but the fact that they had the nerve to call him out, practically begging him to participate in the show willingly. He, Sasuke Uchiha, willingly taking part in a ridiculous media ploy that had the intention of sucking the viewer's dry of their money was something that should not be seen in this day and age, nor later in the (not-so) lone clan survivor's life.

Yet somehow, Naruto had dragged him to a seemingly deserted area in Konoha and one by one, different girls from around the village spent half an hour with him, walking around and staring at him with wide sparkling eyes which had been bothering the moody Uchiha the entire day. Was there a reason for them to ogle at him in what he considered to be such an unpleasant way?

Returning from his memories, Sasuke turned to direct another glare at the other Team Seven member latched onto his arms. "I thought your time was up already, shouldn't you be going now?" he asked coldly, attempting to shrug her off once more, annoyed when she continued to hold on. He scowled. They were a persistent bunch, the female species.

And despite how popular he was amongst them, he could not understand their ways, nor the reason why they flocked after him, it was really quite bothersome in the Uchiha's eyes to be persistently badgered by females on a daily basis. It was the main reason why he never particularly enjoyed leaving the safety of his house, only willingly venturing outside when he needed some dinner, supplies of food and other daily necessities and also training, in which he attempted to find a secluded spot, away from his rabid fan girls.

Appearing seemingly out of nowhere, Naruto suddenly appeared at Sakura's side, gently prying her arm and hands off of Sasuke's arm. "It's time to go now Sakura-chan, your time is up," he spoke gently to her.

Sakura sighed and let go of Sasuke's arm before stumbling away with Naruto who led her gently off of the set.

"Hmph." Sasuke flexed his sore arm that had been abused throughout the day from all the clinging each girl had done.

Naruto began to return, glaring at Sasuke as he approached him, obviously upset that Sasuke could easily spend some time with Sakura and not appreciate it; a date that Naruto had always asked Sakura for which she often declined. "There's still one more girl before you're meant to go through a selecting process and-"

"I told you, I'm not interested in this stupidity," Sasuke replied in a bored tone, flicking a fleck of lint off of his shoulder. "So stop trying to interfere with my life," he added coldly, glancing up at his former blonde-haired companion before turning away and shoving his hands into his pockets. He was unable to get away however as said blonde had seized a handful of the back of his shirt, determined to not allow him to get away. "Che," Sasuke hissed before quickly swinging around, aiming for a blow to Naruto's face.

"NO! Naruto-kun!" cried a somewhat familiar voice and there was a feather-like touch at Sasuke's neck before he saw the sky and soon the floor as darkness washed over him.

...

Somehow, it was warm where Sasuke was.

"Don't ever do that again, Hyuuga-san. I understand you were only trying to protect Naruto-kun, but there was really no need to knock him out," came the voice that Sasuke recognised to be the director's.

"Y-yes... I'm s-sorry," apologised the voice of the girl who had screamed before Sasuke had lost consciousness. "I-I... was j-just so w-worried..."

Sasuke peeked his eyes open and from the bed (or whatever it was) he lay in, he could see the back of a girl he could not recognise. Long purple hair that was loosely tied at the back and a two-coloured jacket. Was she the one who had suppressed his chakra flow, making him sleep? He pulled himself up into a sitting position and at his movement, all attention was turned to him and saw that girl for who she was, recognising that child-like face that had now matured and belonged to that of a woman. Hinata Hyuuga had definitely changed in ways that surprised him.

"Ahh! U-Uchiha-san!" she gasped, her cheeks flushed and her eyes wide with earnest concern. "A-are you okay?" she asked, biting her lip worriedly as he placed a hand to his aching head. She noted that he must have hit it when he had collapsed.

There was an undeniable throbbing in Sasuke's head and he could not say he was pleased by its presence; rather, it made his mood even more foul. "Why the hell did you do that for?" he snapped.

Surprised, Hinata brought fingers up to touch her lips worriedly out of habit. "U-um... y-you were... going to a-attack Naruto-kun a-and..." she trailed off, not sure if she should continue, seeing as how irritated she had already succeeded in making the Uchiha.

"Well Sasuke, will you still be able to continue shooting in your condition?" asked the director, clearly unconcerned for the young shinobi's health.

Sasuke snorted, swinging his legs onto the floor. "Does it look like it?" he asked roughly, attempting to push himself up.

He was more than surprised when Hinata pressed her hands onto his chest and pushed him gently back down onto the seat.

"Y-you sh-shouldn't be m-moving..." she stammered, staring at her hands as if they had just committed a felony. "I've d-disrupted the proper fl-flow of your chakra, so it may take an h-hour or so for it to return to its n-normal flow. D-during that time... I-I think you should relax..." she explained, wringing her hands nervously as she continued to avoid looking into his eyes.

"Yeah, Hinata knows what she's talking about!" Naruto said with a grin from Sasuke's right. "So listen to her, Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He hated being ordered around. He attempted to push himself up once more, feeling that annoying wave of nausea but fighting it as he stood on his feet, the room moving slightly as he stood there. "I'm going home then," he growled, taking an unsteady step forward.

Once more, Hinata prevented him from moving any further by blocking his pathway, standing in front of him with her hands clasped together over her chest. "Pl-please d-don't strain yourself!" she begged, continuing to bite on her bottom lip in concern.

"Look," Sasuke said unsure of which Hyuuga to address as two of them appeared before him. He shook his head to clear it, attempting to focus once more on the curvaceous woman before him. He mentally slapped himself for thinking that. "I know you're here to date me for that stupid show, but I'm not wasting anymore time here, so go home and leave me alone."

Hinata's eyes widened as she stared at him. "E-eh? Sh-show? D-date?" she repeated, cheeks burning a darker shade of red at the last word. "I-I d-don't know what you m-mean..."

Sasuke snorted. "Whatever." He pushed past her and stumbled along the way, cursing her for having disrupted his chakra flow so severely.

"But Sasuke! We're still filming!" the director cried indignantly, readjusting his glasses.

"I don't care about your stupid show," Sasuke growled in annoyance as he continued to walk away.

"Hey, didn't I say for you to listen to what Hinata said?" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm roughly.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata gasped. "Y-you might hurt him f-further..."

Glaring at Sasuke, Naruto let go of the Uchiha, scowling.

Hinata watched worriedly as Sasuke continued to stumble away, her fingertips touching her lips. She wondered as she stared at his retreating back, what he had meant by a date. She had only arrived because they had asked for a medical ninja as a member of the stage crew had injured themself.

But, it was only to be expected of Hinata Hyuuga who continued to stare after Sasuke Uchiha in wonder. She wasn't a tv person.

...

End of chapter 1.

A/N: So what did you think? Leave a review please? XD


	2. Pounding Headache

**Sasuke Wants a Wife**

"Welcome to the #1 show in Konoha! Sasuke-teme Wants a Wife! I'm your host, Uzumaki Naruto and-" A shoe collided with the blonde's head. "WHOEVER SAID I WANTED A WIFE?" Sasuke wants to revive his clan. So, what else is there to do but hold a public search for the girl to help him do exactly that?

A/N: Wow, people reviewed this... XD I have so many important things I should be doing right now... (like working on an assignment or at the very least updating some stories that I haven't worked on for a while...) And yet, I'm back here bringing you a second chapter. This fic is from Sasuke's perspective which I'm personally happy about since my other one is from Hinata's. So, onto the chapter, ne?

...

There was an incessant dripping that echoed throughout the Uchiha's otherwise empty house (not empty because he was obviously there). Alongside the annoying dripping (that he took mental note to call a plumber for), was the insistent calls undoubtedly from either his fangirls or the director for the ridiculous show that Naruto had dragged him into, naively thinking he was doing his past comrade a favour by helping him achieve his ambitions to revive his clan.

_Stupid dobe_, Sasuke thought moodily as he lay on his back in bed, his house phone ringing once more, the ringing sound echoing throughout his house causing a headache to slowly build up between the Uchiha's drawn brows.

Grinding his teeth in annoyance, Sasuke ignored the call, rolling over onto his side and glaring at the wall opposite him. Why was it that people insisted on harassing him when he clearly did not feel like, or rather, did not _want_ to talk to anyone. It was aggravating that nobody could understand this.

Pounding resounded in his ears and after a while of believing it to be his head throbbing painfully loud, he realised it was simply another ignorant moron knocking insistently on his front door. He growled and pulled a pillow over his head, refusing to answer. The last thing he needed as an anti-morning person was for a myopic idiot to be visiting him in the morning as they usually did with their bright smiles and plebeian attitude.

The knocking ceased for a moment and Sasuke wondered whether the person had finally gained some sense to leave him alone if he was refusing to answer the door. This thought was instantly dashed when the knocking continued and Sasuke breathed out through his teeth in a hiss.

"U-Uchiha-san...?" came the nervous voice from the other side of the closed door.

The string of insults that ran through Sasuke's mind in regard of the person at his door froze with the sound of the familiar voice and it took him a few moments to recall where he had heard that voice before, needing to link it to a face he had seen only yesterday.

In a split second, his legs were swung over the side of the bed and he was pushing himself up off of the comfortable mattress, his bare feet tapping lightly against the floor as he quickly made his way to the front door, too moody to care about whether or not he should slip on a shirt.

He was at the door in a matter of seconds and unlocking it, swinging it open to greet the sight of the surprised and then blushing Hinata Hyuuga who hurriedly lowered her eyes at his state of undress.

Yes, he was wearing a singlet but it still did not stop the shy Hyuuga from averting her pale eyes.

"U-um... uh..." she started, unsure of where to look, knowing it was rude to not look at people when attempting to converse with them yet too embarrassed to raise her gaze to the Uchiha's slightly exposed chest.

"What do you want?" he cut in, annoyed. He hadn't been expecting her to be one of those myopic plebeians who thought morning visits to the Uchiha residence was fine. It was worse that he was now 20 with older people now giving him regular visits, thinking it was fine that there was a 20 year age gap and perfectly normal. The thought made Sasuke's skin crawl at times.

The flushed Hyuuga fidgeted for a moment, playing with her fingers to ease her nerves, although it was hardly effective as she attempted to raise her gaze to his face once more, the rouge on her cheeks deepening with each attempt. "Uh-m... th-the manager for th-the show called..." she began to stammer out.

Sasuke raised a brow. "So?"

The gulp was visible in her throat, she continued, glancing about herself as if searching for an escape route, "U-um... h-he s-said th-that he was worried... th-that you might b-be sick..."

The snort that issued from Sasuke made Hinata jump. "Yes, I'm sure that that idiot is worried about my health, since he sent a low-levelled ninja to come and check on me," he said coldly, stepping back, his hand on the door knob as he prepared to close the door. "Thanks for wasting my time," he said in sarcastic dismissal.

Two small hands reached up and pressed against the door, stopping it from closing.

Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, Sasuke drew the door back. "What is it now?"

Hinata's brows had knotted together and she bit her lip, deciding that it was best to ignore the insult for now, although she wasn't sure she would forget it. "I-I j-just think it's best th-that I check if you're sick..." she said hesitantly, staring down at her hands as if she were accusing them of trapping her in the Uchiha's presence.

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke answered icily, "I don't trust anyone, so why would I allow you into my house to diagnose me with good health?"

Though she knew of the Uchiha's trust issues from Sakura who had informed her about it before she came to the ex-Akatsuki member's house, his coldness still unnerved her and Hinata instantly regretted agreeing to visit him. She just wanted to get out of his uncomfortable presence.

"I-I s-see..." she mumbled, gripping the hem of her jacket tightly, her bottom lip chewed on out of nervous habit. "W-well..." she began, straining to keep her voice normal, "...I'll j-just go then... I'm s-sorry for bothering you." She quickly bowed and turned away, hastily making her way down the street away from his doorstep.

Despite being glad that she had finally decided to leave, Sasuke stood at his front door, staring after her retreating back before he slowly closed the door, locking it and walking through his empty house, returning to his beckoning bed and falling into it.

He would simply have to sleep to soothe the morning migraine that he could still feel throbbing between his knotted brows.

...

How Naruto had gotten into his house was beyond him.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto greeted as he stood over the moody Uchiha's bed. "You slept in! We have filming to do! Today's the day that you decide who you want to live with you for a week!" the noisy blonde exclaimed.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and grunted, turning over onto his side, ignoring the easily-excitable blonde with his back faced towards him.

Naruto Uzumaki however, would never take no as an answer.

He grabbed Sasuke's arm and began to pull at it insistently. "Come on! Come on Sasuke!" By this time, Sasuke could feel his shoulder giving in, nearly popping out of its socket with the blonde's insistence.

"Fine!" Sasuke hissed, kicking off his sheets and shaking Naruto's arm off, hauling himself out of bed and directing a deathly glare at the grinning Uzumaki. Every time he saw his former team mate's face, it aggravated him.

It had been Naruto that had brought him back here four years ago. Back to this torment and pointless life.

The very thought made Sasuke swing out at Naruto who crashed to the floor with the force of the blow. However, the blonde pushed himself back onto his feet a scowl on his face as he prepared for another fight with the Uchiha. Mornings with Naruto always ended up that way.

Sasuke launched himself at Naruto, knocking him back into the wall, the crash causing books and a vase to fall off from the bookshelf that leant against the wall. He pulled back and raised a fist, punching Naruto in the face as he drew back his other fist. Suddenly, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke from below him and Sasuke reacted as if upon reflex, squatting with his hands pressed on the floor for support as he swept his foot across the floor, tripping Naruto who was prepared to attack him from behind.

That Naruto also vanished, followed by a pair of arms wrapping tightly around Sasuke's neck from behind. Sasuke coughed and spluttered, his vision blurring as the arms around his throat tightened still until eventually all went black.

...

"I know you guys always end up fighting, but there's really no need to always knock him unconscious like that, Naruto," Sakura's familiar voice drifted over Sasuke's head.

"He's the one that always attacks me first!" Naruto cried defensively from somewhere next to Sasuke's head. "I have to do something without having to fight him!"

Sasuke tasted an iron tang in his mouth. It was annoying to hear that the idiotic blonde was unwilling to fight him. Everything was annoying. He thought bitterly of how he hated it all.

A small cold hand touched his forehead and he involuntarily shivered.

"I-I think he has a fever..." spoke a third, quiet voice.

Sasuke recognised her voice instantly.

It also registered in his mind that he was lying in his bed (it was unmistakable, he knew that comfortable mattress too well).

"Well, I want him up and ready soon so that we can do some filming," the voice of the show's manager spoke.

_Bastard_, was the only word that ran in Sasuke's mind.

"U-Um... I don't think he'll be w-well enough to do filming t-today..." came the small voice of the Hyuuga in response to the manager.

"What do you mean by that?" the manager asked, obviously annoyed at the thought of having to delay filming.

"Pl-please... h-he's unwell..." Hinata's quiet voice trailed off as footsteps were heard.

Movement and more footsteps were heard. "Hey buddy, don't even think of getting mad at her," Naruto growled warningly.

"Someone's health is more important than a show, isn't it?" Sakura's cold voice also put in.

There was a moment of tense silence which was then followed by a sigh and footsteps leaving the room. "Just make sure he's better by tomorrow!" the manager called over his shoulder as he left the room.

There was a sigh of relief. "Th-thank you... Naruto-kun and Sakura-san..." Hinata said gratefully.

"Don't worry, we wouldn't let that idiot push you around," Sakura's said. "Well, I know you're perfectly capable of looking after Sasuke, so I have to return to Tsunade. There's a lot of work I'm supposed to be doing right now. Please look after him until he recovers, okay? I'll probably pop in later to see how he's doing. I'll see you later then," Sakura said before her footsteps were heard, leading her out of the room.

"Goodbye," Hinata called out after her.

Naruto laughed a little. "I have to go after the manager and deal with this whole thing. I'm the host of the show after all!" He paused. "Are you going to be all right on your own Hinata?" he asked, concerned.

"U-Um...! Y-yes!" Hinata stammered, flustered.

Sasuke could almost picture Naruto grinning happily. "Okay then! I'll see you later too!"

His heavy footsteps echoed throughout the room as he left and silence filled the room soon after.

It was then that Sasuke decided it was appropriate to open his eyes, squinting in the light from the bulb that hung from his bedroom ceiling, his eyes meeting Hinata's surprised face.

"O-oh! U-Uchiha-san!" she gasped, unconsciously leaning forward in her concern. "A-are you feeling any better?" she asked, eyes scanning his face.

"Aspirin," Sasuke groaned, rubbing his face. "I need an aspirin."

Hinata stared at him for a while before smiling at his answer. "I'll get that for you then," she said as she stood from her seat.

Suddenly, Sasuke reached out and grabbed her wrist, alarming Hinata who froze. Sasuke's eyes were closed, his hand still pressed against his face, brows knotted together in a pained frown.

"Can you please turn off the light?" he asked without opening his eyes.

For a moment Hinata did not move with Sasuke's hand still closed around her wrist.

Sasuke opened his eyes a peak, staring at her. "It's giving me a headache," he explained, releasing her wrist and closing his eyes once more.

"O-okay..." Hinata replied, cheeks flushed as she left her seat at the side of his bed and moved quickly to the light switch, turning off the light.

"You're not leaving are you?" he asked in the darkness, his headache throbbing less insistently with the light switched off. He couldn't care less for company, he just didn't want someone to barge in and rip him from his comfortable bed, so that they could film him. And for some reason, he felt the Hyuuga's presence could resolve that issue.

Hinata stiffened as she remained by the light switch. It was disconcerting to be in a dark room with the Uchiha who had been confirmed to be a murderer, ex-Akatsuki member and previously a missing-nin. "U-um..." she breathed into the darkness, her heart beating wildly. "I... um... I-I'll go and get y-your aspirin..." she said quickly, not wanting to be in the suddenly uncomfortable atmosphere of the room. There was a pause where she cringed, remembering what Sakura had said to her. "I-I'll be back soon..." she added before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind herself.

Like it or not, she would have to remain by his bedside for the rest of the night. She bit her lip and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a trembling hand and headed to his kitchen to grab the aspirin packet he had asked for, filling up a cup with water from the tap and taking a deep steadying breath to calm herself as she made her way back to his bedroom.

...

End of chapter two.

A/N: Erm... yes... Thank you for the wonderful reviews for the last chapter. Please kindly leave a review! XD


	3. Playing Along

**Sasuke Wants a Wife**

"Welcome to the #1 show in Konoha! Sasuke-teme Wants a Wife! I'm your host, Uzumaki Naruto and-" A shoe collided with the blonde's head. "WHOEVER SAID I WANTED A WIFE?" Sasuke wants to revive his clan. So, what else is there to do but hold a public search for the girl to help him do exactly that?

A/N: I currently lack a substantial amount of sleep… actually, perhaps I lack far more than a substantial amount of sleep… I currently have a very bad case of dark bags under my eyes. So, how else to cure insomnia than to allow my hands to type the madness of sleep-deprivation away! Onto the chapter!

...

Fortunately for Hinata, Sasuke was a stubbornly self-sufficient man, who refused to depend on or seek assistance from others. And it was from this pride and stubborn attitude that he dismissed the Hyuuga, who was more than happy to leave the uncomfortable atmosphere of his room, checking his progress one last time before waving goodbye and hastily making her way out of the Uchiha's house, where she was greeted by his former, pink-haired, team mate who stared quizzically at her.

"Oh! Are you leaving Hinata?" she asked, brows raised in mild surprise.

"U-um… yes, Uchiha-san requested it," Hinata replied, breathless from her failed escape attempt.

"Ah, I see," Sakura mumbled, lowering her eyes.

Hinata tilted her head to the side. "Sakura-san?" she asked tentatively.

The pink-haired kunoichi's head shot up and she forced a smile. "Well, Sasuke-kun always acts that way... pushing other people away, but I hope you're not offended."

"Oh no! N-not at all!"

On the contrary, Hinata was quite jubilant that the Uchiha prodigy had grumbled for her to leave. It gave a decent excuse to leave and after having endured what felt like several excruciatingly painful hours of unbearably heavy silence in the Uchiha's room, she was more than happy to slip out of that situation.

Sakura's brows knitted together, her mouth hardening into a thin disapproving line. It appeared as if she were in deep contemplation; on the verge of voicing her thoughts yet feeling it would be either unnecessary or crude to. Finally, having reached her decision, she simply bit her lips and nodded her head in dismissal. "Well, thanks for all that you've done," she said, forcing another smile.

"Um, yes, I'm glad to have been of service," Hinata replied hurriedly before bidding goodbye and practically running out of the house.

As soon as she was several paces away from the house, she breathed in deeply, the restriction from her lungs having vanished. She hadn't realised the reason for her desperation to leave the Uchiha's residence until that moment as she was thankfully taking in gulps of fresh air, filling her strangely aching lungs.

She had been suffocating in that house-no, in the presence of that man. His darkness, pessimism and hatred seemed to envelop the entire room when she had been in there. It had been heavier than the silence she was forced to endure, more agonising.

And now, as Hinata stood still and silent in the streets, she realised that that overwhelming suffocating feeling had been something else too.

She chanced a glance back at the Uchiha residence and felt a tremor rip through her and hastily continued her way down the street, distancing herself from it.

Yes, she had recognised that subtle feeling.

It was sadness. It was despair and hopelessness.

And as Hinata continued to dwell on this, it made her feel utterly miserable. It was so miserable because she could relate to that hopelessness, and her thoughts spiralled into unwanted memories and soon she found the streets and houses a blur as she ran desperately, blindly home.

And all she could think about was that it was so miserable, so sad, so unbearable. That suffocating feeling, the pressure of emotions that would surely drive someone to insanity. Did he feel them? Did he hate it? Did it hurt him as much as it had her after having been exposed to it, or was it more deeper for him, more unbearable?

_It's so sad_, Hinata thought as she reached the Hyuuga residence, rushing to her room and slamming the door behind herself. She found tears marked her cheeks as she sank to the floor.

...

He drifted in and out of sleep; in and out of consciousness, exhausted and yet sleeping fitfully. It was tiring to lay in bed, wishing for sleep and then waking the next moment in agony, feeling as if he had been beaten in his sleep, like his arms and legs were stretched to their limits and beyond on the rack.

He was worn and barely lucid whenever he did awaken, vaguely aware of the aching of his joints, the fluctuating temperature of his body; one moment he felt hot and feverish, the next, it was far too cold and he was instinctively curling his body into a ball, hugging his blanket closer to himself, only to kick it off in reaction to his suddenly burning body.

It was simply agony that he couldn't bear.

One moment, he awoke, sluggish, sore and called out deliriously. He wasn't sure what had been spoken from his mouth, but he received the gentle touch of a hand to his burning forehead in response, to which he shrunk away from, shivering from the coldness.

He heard gentle murmuring, understanding it and yet not comprehending the words and he felt sure that delirium had settled in; to be able to receive the words and yet incapable of digesting them.

He cried out miserably once more, reaching out blindly, groping about fearfully.

A warm hand encircled his. "It's alright," he heard Sakura's voice murmur soothingly. "You've got to rest so that your body can recover from the illness."

Footsteps.

Someone approaching his bed.

Naruto's voice drifting serenely over his head, encouraging sleep.

They were there.

They had never left.

They would never leave.

A gentle wave of reassurance washed over Sasuke and swept him away into unconsciousness. It was calming. It was pleasant. And finally, Sasuke Uchiha slept peacefully.

...

Shadows lined Sasuke's eyes as he sat up, propped against his pillows in bed, glowering at the enthusiastic blonde seated beside his mattress, intensely immersed in the consumption of his ramen breakfast.

"Stop eating like a slob," came Sasuke's contemptuous and crisp tone over the sound of Naruto's slurping.

Naruto raised his gaze from his ramen bowl, sucking up the noodle that dangled outside his mouth. He chewed slowly, considering his reply carefully. "I'm appreciating it," he replied bluntly.

Too blunt for Sasuke, who's eye twitched convulsively in warning.

Sakura opened the door to the Uchiha's room just as the prodigy's cereal bowl soared across the room, Naruto having just narrowly dodged it.

"_Teme_! You could've hit me!"

"That _was_ the point, _usuratonkaichi_," Sasuke hissed, hand poised to throw back the blankets in case the situation evolved into a physical fight.

Sakura sighed, a vein popping out on her forehead. She was thankful that the two "got along", but it really was bothersome to have both of them beaten up and injured due to their own idiocy and need to resort to anger and violence. She cleared her throat and caught the attention of her Team Seven comrades and directed a menacing glare at both of them before saying curtly, "Naruto, I already discussed this with you. Sasuke, you're sick."

Throwing one last glare at one another, Sasuke and Naruto relaxed, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki to his seat and the Uchiha into his propped up pillows, both grumbling to themselves, though not loudly enough in case Sakura decided to fracture several of their bones, knowing very well she was capable of the feat as she cracked her knuckles for good measure before them.

Exhaling deeply and exhaustively, Sakura paced over to Sasuke's bed, clicking her tongue in continual disapproval of the two before whipping out a thermometer; Sasuke promptly opening his mouth in response to the sight of it and obediently allowed it to be placed inside his mouth (knowing the consequences of causing Sakura to lose her temper). Withdrawing the thermometer from the raven-haired boy's mouth, Sakura studied the temperature shown on it and gave a sigh of relief. "Well, it seems that you're improving at least. You should be up and ready to go by tomorrow at least and prepared for the show."

Sasuke's head shot up and his eyes narrowed into annoyed slits. "The show?" he asked in a dangerously soft tone. Was that all anyone ever thought or talked about around him? The show that he didn't even give a damn about?

"Yeah, viewing rates are going down because we've been playing some re-runs since you've been ill," Naruto piped up.

Clenching his fists, Sasuke looked away angrily, teeth gritted in annoyance. He had to remain calm and collected, but lately he had been finding it difficult and unbearable, especially because he knew that Naruto had become stronger than him; _was_ stronger than him. Strong enough to nearly shatter all his bones just to drag him back to Konoha where he was constantly under close surveillance. What kind of existence was this?

"I don't give a damn about that crap!" Sasuke hissed through clenched teeth. "Why the hell do I have to deal with all these annoying things that you intentionally do to bother me?"

Mouth falling open in speechless surprise, a taken aback Naruto exclaimed angrily, "Bother you? _Bother_? Isn't this what you wanted? The revival of your clan?"

"I don't need your moronic help to revive my clan!"

The fuming blonde snorted, shovelling ramen moodily into his mouth. There was a pause where he chewed on his mouthful of ramen and swallowed before edging his chair forward and staring pointedly at his old teammate, his cheeks tinged a slight pink. "You may not need _my_help, but you will need a _woman's_," he explained in a low tone and matter-of-fact manner.

The Uchiha prodigy merely stared at the Kyuubi host, incapable of forming any verbal response and sorely tempted to break the blonde's nose a number of times. The man was not doing himself any favours when he began to nod knowledgeably and recline in his chair. The throbbing headache from the previous day was threatening to return in full bloom and already Sasuke could feel his eye twitching uncontrollably.

An unnerved Sakura excused herself and silently slid out of the room, Naruto watching her exit regretfully. However, he turned his attention back to the dark-haired Uchiha.

"We're really trying to help you, Sasuke... so if this is what you want, then we'll be glad to help you find someone to revive your clan with," Naruto mumbled into his ramen bowl as he began to sip the remaining soup.

The cool and collected attitude of Naruto as he easily discussed this issue with Sasuke drove the prodigy up the wall. He had no desire of "reviving his clan" in _that_manner and the wild assumptions being made by his former team mates provoked a maddening urge to senselessly throttle someone.

What right did they have to interfere in his life like that?

Yet, a sudden idea flashed in Sasuke's mind and he realised that denying the assumptions of every idiot around him would have no impact on the aggravating control over his life that they had. If this was the case, then he didn't mind playing along to provide himself with entertainment while he planned to destroy his oppressors. So why not keep them on their toes for now?

"...so just name the girl for this week and we're all good to go," Naruto continued to explain coolly while placing his empty bowl aside with a smile.

Sasuke returned the smile, albeit stiffly, surprising his blonde companion who felt that oddly enough, they had made some sort of progress.

"Well then," Sasuke began, smile still painfully in place, "what about Hinata Hyuuga?"

There was a pause where Naruto didn't seem to comprehend his words. "She's... a nice girl. What about her?" the blonde replied slowly, eyebrows drawn together in earnest confusion.

Leaning back into his pillows, Sasuke nodded, bored. "I know. So bring her to me. I want her."

...

A/N: Wow... I wrote most of this chapter 2 years ago... I thought I had lost this somehow, but I found this back up on an ancient USB and thought I would quickly wrap up the chapter before posting... anyway, thanks for the previous chapter's review! Please leave a review!


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